Chapter 45: Flood Dragon

On the pallid white flagpole, the White Tiger Blood Flag fluttered fiercely.

The great flag was planted on the riverbank outside the Mist Blade outpost, and a expanse of blood-red looked especially glaring under the red light of the False Sun.

Whether it was Mist Blade or the Changsheng Sect's affiliates, none dared to move this great flag, leaving it planted there. Old Tie's strike was too powerful, truly terrifying.

As long as one has sufficient strength, sometimes one's true self need not be present; the strength alone is enough to form an invisible deterrence.

Mist Blade's patrol teams passed the White Tiger Blood Flag many times, yet they never even glanced at the flag.

Moreover, no one dared to do anything to this flag.

"Strength."

Wu Tie stood on a small hill several kilometers away, squinting as he watched the White Tiger Blood Flag dance wildly in the strong river wind.

"Grey Master... your understanding of strength differs from mine." Wu Tie muttered softly: "Perhaps you are right; wisdom is likewise an immensely powerful strength."

"But for me now, strength is nothing but violence; wisdom and such are too far away."

Gripping his long spear, primordial vigor continually poured into his tight-fitting armor; the pallid white armor shimmered with threads of flowing light, which intertwined into ancient, intricate patterns, imparting a martial and solemn aura to the armor seemingly out of nowhere.

With a long whistle, Wu Tie leapt up, an invisible force field supporting his body; he soared like a bird several hundred meters high, tracing an arc as he swooped toward the distance.

He deliberately drew near the Mist Blade outpost, then glided past it from over a thousand meters above in the air.

Inside the outpost, a sharp, piercing alarm sounded; large numbers of Mist Blade assassins and servant warriors swarmed onto the walls, each staring intently and warily at Wu Tie.

Wu Tie did not get too close; he turned in an arc and glided past toward the downstream of the great river.

A pod of giant hippopotamuses was happily eating and drinking in a river bend, while a group of iron‑skinned unicorn crocodiles over ten meters long—creatures Wu Tie had never seen before—sneakily moved upstream from downstream, resembling rotten wooden posts, slowly approaching the hippopotamuses.

Wu Tie landed on the riverbank and gave that group of iron‑skinned unicorn crocodiles a wary glance.

In the lessons taught by Old Tie, there were data on these huge creatures. For Wu Tie as he is now, these amphibious beasts, with their thick scales, astonishing bite force, immense strength in their four claws, and the ability to manipulate water flow into deadly torrents, are utterly invincible.

Perhaps it was the blood‑water that had drifted downstream from the great river a few days earlier that attracted these behemoths.

Regardless, their arrival… had little impact on Wu Tie.

"Old Tie is right—the closer one gets to that molten‑rock fissure, the more abundant the heat, the lusher the vegetation, the fiercer these behemoths become, and the greater the danger to me." Wu Tie glanced at the motionless crocodile group on the river surface, flicked his toe, and sent a stone flying.

A stone the size of a human head flew several dozen meters and smashed heavily into the skull of a giant hippopotamus.

While happily enjoying its meal, it was suddenly struck and saw stars; the enraged giant hippopotamus burst out of the water bay, charged onto the riverbank, and roared "hoo‑hoo" as it rushed at Wu Tie.

Wu Tie gave a long whistle, swung his long spear with both hands, creating a fierce gust that slammed head‑on into the giant hippopotamus.

His right shoulder slammed heavily into the hippopotamus's skull; the massive beast's body shuddered to a halt, the spear pierced its cranium—a clean, decisive killing blow.

The hippopotamus's impact was extremely fierce; Wu Tie recoiled backward with the recoil, casually pulling his spear free.

A swarm of metal spiders sprang forward; one metal spider's bulging abdomen opened, and metallic fluid quickly congealed into a long blade.

Wu Tie skillfully dismembered the hippopotamus, letting the metal spiders carry it back to the Ancient Divine Weapons Camp.

Thereafter he began hunting the second, third, fourth…

The metal spiders constantly ferried back and forth as Wu Tie busily slaughtered twenty giant hippopotamuses in succession.

The scent of blood spread everywhere; the sluggish hippopotamus herd finally sensed the danger in the air, they let out uneasy low growls and slowly moved toward the deep waters of the great river.

On the river surface, the iron‑skinned unicorn crocodiles stirred, slowly advancing toward the hippopotamus herd.

Amidst a thunderous "boom‑boom‑boom," thick white water columns the size of water barrels shot up from the river surface, striking the hippopotamus herd at terrifying speed. The near‑solid columns easily tore through the beasts' thick hide, sliced their muscles, and pierced their massive bodies.

Vast amounts of fresh blood gushed forth like a fountain, quickly dyeing the river surface red for a radius of about one li.

The iron‑skinned unicorn crocodiles swiftly approached the wounded hippopotamus herd; behind them, dark shadows flashed beneath the river surface, and fine ripples continually appeared on the water.

The ferocious aura of top‑tier beast‑slayers continually drifted from afar on the great river; Wu Tie glanced awedly at the anomaly on the river surface and swiftly retreated.

This massive slaughter was Wu Tie's preparation for a forthcoming period of hiding.

Whether it was Mist Blade or the Changsheng Sect, if they entered this secret realm again, they would certainly bring enough powerful masters and sufficient numbers of subordinates.

Old Tie's current combat power is not very reliable.

Wu Tie must needs lie low for a while; his cultivation cannot do without Foundation Establishment Elixir, which is why he chose to slaughter ten giant hippopotamuses all at once.

"These damned beasts, I hope they don't kill off all these giants…" Wu Tie muttered while sprinting, glancing back regretfully at the chaotic riverbank shoal.

Twelve iron‑skinned unicorn crocodiles appeared on the water surface, greedily biting into the wounded hippopotamuses one after another, then thrashing violently. The dull sound of breaking bones rang incessantly as the crocodiles easily snapped the hippopotamuses' thick necks.

Behind the iron‑skinned unicorn crocodiles, seven or eight thick water‑barrel‑sized giant water pythons silently appeared.

Behind those water pythons, a colossal water python whose girth reached about two meters and whose length neared a hundred meters slowly emerged half‑body from the river.

On the forehead of the colossal water python grew two sharp black horns; its eyes bore transparent eyelids that could blink freely, now half‑inch thick and rapidly fluttering, while its amber‑gold, spindle‑shaped pupils radiated murderous light.

Wu Tie jerked his head back and suddenly saw that colossal water python; he shuddered all over from fright.

The great battle between Mist Blade and the Changsheng Sect on the river surface poured vast amounts of blood into the water, finally drawing out all the demons and monsters lurking in this secret realm.

The twin‑horned giant water python…

According to the lessons Old Tie has given Wu Tie these past days, this kind of serpent is no longer a mere snake but a "Flood Dragon"!

And the Flood Dragon… it long ago left the category of "beast"; you may call it a "demon" or a "monster"—in short, it is a non‑human, terrifying entity that ordinary living beings cannot cope with.

This Flood Dragon slowly opened its maw.

Its huge mouth was packed with sharp teeth; Wu Tie noticed that the snake's forked tongue had vanished, replaced by a long, undivided red tongue!

Indeed, it was no longer a snake.

A metal spider the size of a fist shot over, and after a few hops it landed on Wu Tie's shoulder.

Old Tie's voice came from the metal spider's belly, and he exclaimed delightedly: "A Flood Dragon? There's actually such a treasure here… if we could turn it into an elixir…"

Wu Tie gave a light cough.

Old Tie also began to cough dryly: "Even if we two bound ourselves together, we wouldn't be enough for it to swallow… ah, a tiny, insignificant young Flood Dragon, and moreover clearly a mixed‑blood hybrid, not a purebred Flood Dragon… tsk, back in the day…"

After a long sigh, Old Tie murmured: "Back then, this creature wasn't even worthy of being turned into barbecue by Yang Jian and his ilk… to be honest, I too would love to taste what dragon liver and phoenix gallbladder are like… but alas… I lack that ability."

Wu Tie patted the metal spider and remained silent.

The Flood Dragon on the river surface suddenly exuded a terrifying aura; visible black mist roared outward in all directions, and its oppressive, near‑substantial menace—heavy as a mountain—stiffened Wu Tie's body, nearly causing him to collapse.

Pores constricted, heart tightened, Wu Tie saw stars flashing before his eyes, blood flow throughout his body suddenly slowed.

Fortunately Wu Tie was far away; if he had been near that flood dragon, he would have already lost his ability to move and could only become a snack for the flood dragon to devour.

Not daring to look back or heed Lao Tie's complaints, Wu Tie ran at full speed across the ground, striving to make no sound as he fled toward the Ancient God barracks.

A low, penetrating roar came from behind, and the flood dragon confronted that group of iron-skinned unicorn crocodiles.

The piercing whistle of the water column tearing through the air was clearly audible, along with the sound of breaking bones and other strange noises that kept coming.

The giant water pythons hissed sharply, the dense cracking of bones bursting like frying beans; Wu Tie, without looking back, could imagine these giant pythons coiled around their prey, frenziedly constricting in a ferocious manner.

Having fled at full speed for dozens of li, he could no longer feel the flood dragon's near-substantial pressure; Wu Tie finally caught his breath, stood on a small mound, and strained his gaze toward the great river.

That flood dragon's body was so huge that, even at this distance, its movements were still visible.

Wu Tie saw it raise half its body and swallow two iron-skinned unicorn crocodiles whole. Then, seemingly still hungry, the flood dragon let out a long cry, took several giant water pythons, and slowly swam upstream along the shoal.

Wu Tie saw that, on the distant river surface, several iron-skinned unicorn crocodiles were swimming swiftly.

On the riverbank, that herd of hippos, covered in blood, had scattered far away. Obviously, the battle between the iron-skinned unicorn crocodiles, the flood dragon, and the snake swarm gave these unseverely injured hippos a chance to escape.

These guys were lucky, dodging the flood dragon and snake swarm's attacks, but precisely because they fled, the flood dragon didn't get its fill.

That flood dragon also seemed too lazy to chase the scattered hippo herd, or to continue pursuing the iron-skinned unicorn crocodiles that still had some fight left; it swayed its massive body and slowly headed straight for the Mist Blade outpost seven or eight li away.

Given the flood dragon's miraculous nature and its enormous size, a distance of seven or eight li was, for it, roughly like an ordinary person popping next door to a neighbor's house.

Before long, the flood dragon, accompanied by seven or eight giant water pythons, openly appeared outside the walls of the Mist Blade outpost.

Sharp alarm cries rang out continuously; hordes of gray dwarves and stone dwarf slaves screamed as they charged out, urged on by the Mist Blade assassins and servant soldiers behind them, desperately launching an assault on the flood dragon and the snake swarm.

Several large water pythons flicked their tails with great speed, sweeping away large swaths of human silhouettes in their wake.

The flood dragon lowered its head, then drew in a mighty breath; in the span of that inhalation, dozens of human figures were lifted off the ground and swallowed whole in one gulp.

Wu Tie felt a chill run through his body; that single gulp had swallowed at least fifty or sixty gray dwarves and stone dwarves.

What's worse, after swallowing two iron-skinned unicorn crocodiles and so many slaves, the flood dragon's belly showed no sign of change whatsoever.

Obviously, it possessed a powerful digestive capacity commensurate with its strength and size.

"That guy…" Wu Tie gripped his spear shaft and, without thinking, took a few steps toward the Mist Blade outpost.

Before long, at least hundreds of gray dwarves and stone dwarves had been devoured by the flood dragon and the snake swarm, but it was obvious that these small-bodied gray dwarves and stone dwarves could not satisfy the flood dragon's hearty appetite.

"What has this creature been feeding on to grow so large?" Wu Tie's body trembled slightly, waves of heat surging inside him.

"Don't be foolish… you can't save them now…" The metal spider jumped about on Wu Tie's shoulder, and Lao Tie shouted sternly: "To rescue people, you need sufficient strength… don't throw your life away for nothing…"

Lao Tie murmured lowly: "Although, Grandfather I admire your sense of justice… but going there would be useless…"

Within the Mist Blade outpost, the slaves suffered heavy casualties; finally, elite warriors were dispatched.

Large numbers of ox-tribe and wolf-tribe warriors let out loud roars, fully armed, and charged out of the outpost.

The flood dragon lowered its body and flung open its huge maw.

A jet of black water mist sprayed from the flood dragon's mouth, reaching over a hundred meters; its body swayed slightly, and the mist unfurled before it into a vast fan shape.

Hundreds of ox-tribe and wolf-tribe warriors simultaneously dropped their weapons, wailing shrilly, clutching their blood‑blurred faces with both hands as they ran about in panic.

Deadly poison—the black water mist contained potent toxin; its venom instantly corroded their eyeballs, turning their facial muscles into pus‑blood that dripped continuously.

Hundreds of elite warriors were wiped out in an instant; the flood dragon leisurely opened its mouth, inhaling slowly and steadily, swallowing those ox‑tribe and wolf‑tribe warriors one after another into its belly.

Wu Tie felt a chill run through his body…

Lao Tie pondered, then murmured: "Your question just now was spot on—what does this creature eat to grow so big? With its appetite, in just a few years it could devour this entire secret realm…"

"Could it be that its lair holds something good?" Lao Tie suddenly said urgently: "All right, little guy, since you can't save them, rather than stand here feeling miserable, you might as well…"

"I…" Wu Tie gazed in the direction of the Mist Blade outpost, his feelings tangled.

"Have you heard of 'besiege Wei to rescue Zhao'?" Lao Tie, having read Wu Tie's mood, spoke quickly: "Perhaps you still have another way to save them…"